


Fool

by ghostlymoths



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Awkwardness, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Domestic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Love Triangles, M/M, Oblivious, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shiro is being kind of an asshole, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, ooc shiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:40:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlymoths/pseuds/ghostlymoths
Summary: "Look, you're failing ceramics, right?  I'll make your projects for you, you can take full credit, whatever you want- as long as you take Lance out.""I don't know how comfortable I am with that, Keith.""Shiro, do you want to pass your classes or not?  It's six more assignments- six dates, then you're graduated and it's done.  Please-""What's in it for you, Keith?""He- He's my best friend.  He deserves to be happy."Shiro frowns and sighs, shaking his head.  "I don't know I can keep him happy, but I'll try.  Thank you for the homework help..."  He looks over at Keith, with some new determination in his eye.  "Does Lance like flowers?"
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

While chaotic, Keith’s mornings were generally not as terrible as this one and for once, none of it was his fault. He had made it to school on time, he had remembered to bring his wallet, lunch, and his water bottle. He had finished his homework, his bike was gassed up- it seemed too good to be true when he walked into class. What he had expected though, never came. The wail he had heard so many times when sitting down, about unrequited love and how much Lance would love to have Shiro come over and kiss his brains out- there was none of that. In fact, Lance was completely silent in his seat. It was startling and Keith’s first words of the morning were lost.

“Lance is going through his trough again,” Pidge mutters beside Keith as he sits down. “It came early this month but that might mean that his peak will be longer next month.”

Lance merely looks up at them and sticks his tongue out before looking back down at his fingers, which he seems to be picking at. Keith frowns and swats at Lance’s hands to stop the nasty habit.

“Did Brews run out of your coconut syrup again,” Keith asks, turning to open up his backpack and retrieve his laptop. He grunts as he pulls it out though, seeing it’s covered in rice, along with everything else in his backpack- his tupperware had burst open. He scowls a little bit but still looks to Lance for an answer after a pause. Lance’s favorite coffee shop had run out of the syrup once and he had made it a goal to bring it up everytime he got a drink after that. And Keith was sure that the shop made sure to never run out after that.

“Shiro replied to my snapchat,” Lance says quietly before sighing, a bit exasperated. “I tried to ask him on a date but he dodged the question. If he were just to say ‘no’, I could move on! But no, he has to go and make excuses and ask to do it later and just leave me in the dark-” he continues to rant for a moment and Keith just listens quietly. He always tried to listen to Lance. It was something he had learned early on in their friendship- Lance appreciated when people paid attention and actually listened to what he was saying, regardless if Keith wanted to hear it or not.

“What did you ask him to do,” Pidge interrupts, looking up from their laptop. “Like, what was your date idea?”

“He posted something on Instagram about how he really wanted to take a drive up the canyon this weekend for pictures or shit. I told him that I’d be down to do a drive. I mean- sometimes driving isn’t even a date- that totally could’ve been planetonic.”

“Platonic,” Pidge corrects quietly. Lance ignores them.

“What did he say,” Keith asks, trying to scoop some rice from the bottom of his bag into the tupperware. “You said he dodged the question?”

“He left me on delivered for a day, then he left me on read for a day, and then he just replied with this,” Lance mutters, pushing his phone over to Keith, snap open on the screen. It was just a picture of a steering wheel in a parking lot. Keith recognized the hood of the car as Shiro’s- and the parking lot as the lot outside of the Science building. He was probably just waiting for class to start, probably just got done at the gym and didn’t need to head home- something like that. There’s a single line of text.

‘Maybe! Hey- do you have your essay from your BioTech class last year and if so, could I borrow it?’

It was certainly vague and Keith could see why Lance would be upset. He frowns a little bit and pushes the phone back over to his friend, giving up on the rice situation in his backpack to give his undivided attention to Lance.

“If he’s always like this, why do you still like him, Lance? What would that mean for a relationship,” Keith asks, frowning a little bit more. “I mean, really- what would change?”

“That’s the thing though,” Lance says suddenly, exasperated. “He’s not like that any other times! It’s just when I ask him to hang out or do things, it’s not fair! He’s a completely decisive person!”

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Pidge murmurs from behind their computer. “Lance, I think he’s trying to say ‘no’ but he’s just too nice.”

“He’s an asshole,” Lance mutters. “He should just say no and get it over with- it’s rude to keep stringing me along like this.”

Their fourth friend, Hunk, soon joins the table, immediately commenting on the fact that Lance seems quieter than normal and he’s quickly updated on the situation, soon sitting like Keith at the table. He’s just as disappointed but also a bit annoyed that Lance is still trying so hard. Pidge was probably right, Shiro probably just didn’t know how to say ‘no’.

“Keith,” Lance hums as he turns to look at the man. “You’re friends with Shiro.”

“Fuck,” Keith mutters under his breath. “I’m not asking him if he likes you, Lance.”

“No, no, no, that’s awkward. What if you invited him on like, a double date? And when he says he doesn’t have anyone to go with, mention me!”

“What if he does have someone to go with,” Pidge asks, glancing up from their screen.

“He doesn’t,” Keith mutters, pinching his nose. “Adam is still avoiding him.”

“See! You know about his personal life and he doesn’t have anyone else to go with. Please, Keith?”

“And who is Keith supposed to go with,” Hunk asks, glancing between him and Keith. “Keith is also single- it might seem like he’s the one asking Shiro on a date.”

“Go with Axca,” Lance says quickly. “You dated her before, you said she was fun to go on dates with!”

“Lance,” Keith grunts. “That was before I came out- and she’s out too. It would be a little bit weird, wouldn’t it?”

“Sexuality is fluid, you hear Pidge saying that all the time,” Lance argues.

“I say gender is fluid, but sexuality is too,” they mutter. 

“I don’t know,” Keith mutters, looking down at the table for a minute. There were pros and cons to the situation- he wanted to help Lance, Lance was one of his good friends. On the other hand, Shiro was also his friend, practically an distant brother at this point and if he really was trying to say ‘no’ to Lance, this would pressure him the wrong way. Keith sighs for a minute before glancing back up to Lance’s pleading expression.

“I’ll think about it.”

That seems to be enough for Lance as he smiles and nods. “Thank you, Keith- I really appreciate it. Keep me posted, okay?” He glances at his watch and his eyes go big as he stands. “Shit! I’m gonna be late for bio again. I’ll see you guys tonight-”

“Tonight?” Keith wracks his brain and groans when he remembers what day it was. The second Friday of the month meant Massive Movie Mania night at his apartment. He had completely forgotten and was now snackless, movieless, and stressed about his newest mission.

“I’ll bring snacks, Pidge will bring the movie,” Hunk says with a smile, nudging Keith as he stands. “Just make sure when you get the pizza that you grab a cheese for Lance.”

“How could I forget,” Keith asks, also starting to pack up his things haphazardly. He remembered last month when their newest addition to the group, Matt (Pidge’s brother and Shiro’s best friend) forgot the cheese and Lance had his personal pizza meltdown. Keith slips his laptop back into his backpack, putting it into a new pocket to avoid the rice and the rest of the friends split ways to class.

Keith snaps his fingers nervously as he walks to his next class- he would do anything for Lance, anything for his friendship and stuff, but this was something he wasn’t as willing to do. He was still going to do it but he had decided he wasn’t going to like it.

-  
Keith had expected to wait to ask Shiro about the whole thing but when it comes up in their conversation during class that day, he decides he might as well. If Shiro says no, Keith can let Lance down during Massive Movie Mania and it might cushion his heartbreak. 

To make things short, Shiro’s failing ceramics. And for good reason as well. As Keith glances over at Shiro’s work beside him, he fails to hide his grimace a bit. It looks terrible- it should probably be a mug but the handle is crooked and the whole mug is too small to hold anything. Keith sighs a little bit and stops working on his own project to reach over to Shiro’s. He wets his fingers a little bit in the water bowl between them before adjusting the handle and straightening it out.

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro mutters, embarrassed. 

“Can’t be good at everything there, bud,” Keith teases. “How’s football going?” He eventually pushes Shiro out of the way so he can smooth the bowl out and make it a bit bigger.

“The season’s been over a while,” Shiro chuckles. “It’s swimming right now. It’s going fine, I guess. I’m up pretty early in the morning and that’s tiring but otherwise, it’s been alright. You seem to be doing fine with the ceramics and such. You’re taking another art class?”

“Film,” Keith hums. “It’s fine.” He doesn’t say much else and they fall into some comfortable silence before the bowl looks a bit nicer, the handle sticking out nicely. “Is it a mug?”

“Soup bowl,” Shiro mutters. “I need to add the second handle.” He frowns. “I don’t know how I’m going to pass this class- I need it to graduate this year. Fuck.”

Keith wipes his hands on his apron before returning to his own piece, an idea sparking in his mind. He thinks for just a minute before facing Shiro again.

“Go on a date with Lance,” he says, looking Shiro right in the eye.

Shiro seems taken aback a bit and then frowns sternly. “Keith- did he put you up to-”

“I’ll help you pass ceramics,” Keith interrupts. “Every assignment I do for you, you go on a date with Lance. When the year is over, you’re off the hook.”

Keith expects Shiro to argue once more but he seems to hesitate, actually thinking about the offer. He’s obviously stressed about passing the class and from the way it looks, Keith knows he’ll fail without help.

“Look, you’re failing this class, right? I’ll make your projects for you, you can take full credit, whatever you want- as long as you take Lance out.”

“I don’t know how comfortable I am with that, Keith.”

“Shiro, do you want to pass your classes or not? It’s six more assignments, six dates, then you graduate and it’s done. Please-”

“What’s in it for you, Keith,” Shiro asks, his face stony again.

Keith goes quiet for a minute, looking down at his own project. It was a clay cat which he was happening to add some marks to- similar to the marks on Lance’s cat. It was for his birthday.  
“He- He’s my best friend. He deserves to be happy.”

It wasn’t a total lie- Lance really was his best friend and he wanted to do everything for him, but that’s only after the fact that he couldn’t do anything else for Lance. Lance didn’t want anything else to do with Keith, other than friendship; and Keith had to work with that.

Shiro frowns and shakes his head. “I don’t know if I can keep him happy, but I’ll try. Thank you for the homework help…” He looks over at Keith, with some new determination in his eye. “Does Lance like flowers?”

-  
Keith had helped Shiro out with the details and it was going to be a double date with him and Lance, Keith offering to go with James. James had mostly agreed because of free food but he also didn’t mind seeing Keith for the first time since their last… ‘Date’. Keith just wanted to make sure Lance had a good time on the date.

When Keith gives Lance the good news that night for Massive Movie Mania, Lance is ecstatic. He’s happier than Keith has ever seen him and it makes Keith feel better- seeing Lance happy was all he really wanted ever. Hunk even said it had been a while since he had seen Lance like that. Keith considers it a success and makes sure that Shiro actually asks Lance before he relaxes that night.

“Wow, so- wait, did he seem interested when you asked him,” Lance asks. He and Keith share one of the couches in his apartment, Pidge on the floor against the coffee table and Hunk in the armchair on the other side of the living space. They were watching one of Lance’s favorite movies, picked out by Pidge to soften the blow if Shiro had ended up rejecting Keith’s proposal.

Keith looks over, hand grabbing some popcorn from the bowl. He shrugs and shoves a fistful into his mouth, chewing before answering. “I mean, he asked you, didn’t he?”

“His message just seemed so much more… Decisive than it is. Like, it wasn’t a ‘maybe’ or dodging the situation, he seemed genuine.”

Keith scoffs. “So why did you ask me?”

“You didn’t put him up to anything did you,” Lance asks, narrowing his eyes. “Is this a pity date?”

“You put me up to putting him up to it! And no, it’s not a pity date, Lance. He wants to go to dinner with you- we’re gonna have a great time.”

Lance relaxes a little bit after that and lets out a breath, nodding before sitting back against the couch. “Right.” He looks back at Keith. “Thank you, Keith. I really appreciate it.”

And instead of joy, Keith finally feels guilt. 

“No problem, buddy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lance loves flowers, probably more than anything in the world. He suspects that Keith told Shiro that but he was still surprised when Shiro pulled up outside his apartment with a bouquet of flowers for him. He was already in love, don’t get him wrong- he was head over heels for Shiro. But this? This was the cherry on top- he was absolutely obsessed with the man at this point.

“You look nice,” Shiro hums, handing him the bouquet. There were plenty of blue flowers inside, bright and dark all mixed together. Shiro looked nice as well, wearing a nice button down and some dark pants. They were heading to a nice restaurant on the other side of town to enjoy some… Korean food? Lance couldn’t remember what Keith had said about it.

“Thank you,” Lance hums. He looks down at himself, as if he had forgotten what he was wearing to see his own button down and dark pants. He smiles a little and looks back up at Shiro, taking the flowers gingerly. “Thank you for the flowers as well, I love flowers.”

Shiro nods and smiles. “Keith said so.” He motions to the car. “After you.”

Lance smiles to himself and follows Shiro into the car, flushed when Shiro opens the door for him, shutting it behind him quickly. He then gets in on his side and they start their drive to the restaurant. Shiro has some music playing quietly and he offers the backseat for Lance’s flowers. Lance places them in the seat behind him before turning to Shiro.

“So, I hate to be so forward,” he starts. “Why ask me on a double date?”

Shiro glances over before his eyes turn back to the road and Lance can see him tense for a minute. “I know that I’ve avoided hanging out before, and I’m really sorry, Lance. I had a lot going on- but you’re such a nice guy and I really want to get to know you.”

Lance smiles and turns back in his seat, nodding. 

“Thank you, Shiro- I- I really appreciate that. I’m really excited for tonight.”

“Me too,” Shiro hums, going quiet again. Lance seems comfortable in the silence, although he wants to prod more at the fact that now he’s actually going on a date with Lance. Did Keith say something about how Lance was starting to get frustrated?

They pull into the restaurant a bit later to see Keith and James already standing outside. Lance frowns at Keith’s disposition as he stands on the sidewalk, awkwardly trying to swat James’ hand from behind him, giving him a scowl. When they’re parked, Lance and Shiro exit the car and head to the entrance. Lance sees Keith smile when he notices the other pair is there and he breaks off from James to walk over, giving both Lance and Shiro a hug. 

“I’m glad you guys could make it,” Keith says, looking between the two men. “You guys look sharp.”

“We all do,” James hums, coming up behind Keith to shake Shiro’s hand. He looks at Lance with a curt nod, which Lance replies with. They lived in solidarity of each other- hatred- but it was solidarity. Lance didn’t know how Keith could put up with James, even if the date was just to help him out. It astounded Lance that Keith hadn’t punched James’ teeth in yet. Lance knew he was ready to- James was an asshole.

“Should we head inside,” Shiro asks, his hand sliding around Lance’s waist in one smooth motion. Lance feels his face heat up and he nods, throwing a glance to Keith to see the other man smiling a bit as everyone enters the restaurant. They’re seated and chatting comes easy to everyone fairly quickly. Lance has a great time.

He doesn’t realize how late it is until Shiro is yawning, standing up to grab his coat after the bill has been paid. “Do you want to come back to my apartment for a little bit?”  
Lance looks over at Shiro and glances at Keith, who has been dodging James’ advances all night. He nods a little bit, encouraging, and Lance looks back at Shiro with a nod. “That sounds like fun.”

Shiro smiles a little bit and also seems to exchange a glance with Keith before helping Lance with his jacket. “Thank you, Keith- for tonight. It was great to see you and James. Talk to you on Monday?”

Keith nods. “Sure thing, Takashi. Goodnight.” He looks at Lance. “Goodnight, Lance- I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Lance promises, picking up his phone before he and Shiro walk out of the restaurant together. He looks over his shoulder to see Keith finally sock James’ shoulder angrily and hand him a fistful of money- he wondered how Keith got James to even show up.

His thoughts are interrupted though when Shiro opens the car door for him, waiting for Lance patiently. He clears his throat and Lance is jarred, looking back with a nod.

“Right, thank you,” he murmurs, getting into the car. He doesn’t really know what to expect going to Shiro’s house- they had already had dinner and it was late. Lance wasn’t really expecting much after that and thought Shiro might just drop him off at his dorm but as they drove past his apartment, Lance glanced over at him.

“Did you have fun?”

“I did,” Shiro hums, his hand coming over to take Lance’s. Lance stiffens a little bit- he didn’t really see Shiro as the affectionate and forward guy he was sitting next to. “Did you?”

Lance nods and looks back at the road, the thumb on the back of his hand becoming incredibly distracting. “I’d love to do it again sometime,” he offers quietly.

Shiro doesn’t say anything for a minute before he squeezes Lance’s hand. “That sounds great, Lance. How does…” He thinks for a minute. “Next Friday sound?” Shiro looks over at him before turning back to the road. “Let me treat you to something fun- do you like mini golf?”

Lance seems to chuckle at that a little bit. “I’m more of a bowling guy, but I’d be more than happy to golf as well. You don’t strike me as the Putt Putt kinda person though.”

“We can bowl,” Shiro replies. “I’m a fan of little things like that. When I was a kid, my mom took me to the arcade a lot- dad worked all day and so we would do fun things together. We did arcades, laser tag, mini golf- you name it.”

Lance feels his chest heat up with the realization that Shiro was confiding in him a little bit and he smiles to himself.

“That sounds like a blast.”

“It was. What about you- did you ever do anything like that with your family?” 

Lance smiles at even the thought of his family and he nods. “All the time. The McClain’s? We’re a wild bunch- Mama says so every time we have a family party.” Lance starts explaining his family to Shiro, talking about his siblings and everything they did as kids before he discusses his parent’s divorce and how that made things a little bit different.

“Mama prefers laser tag and cake so our birthday parties were always Friend Favorites. Dad enjoyed the little things though, like going to a restaurant as a family and then playing board games at home. I don’t really mind either- they’re both fun.”

Shiro squeezes his hand. “Your family sounds really amazing, Lance. You obviously love them a lot.”

“I sure do,” Lance hums, looking out the car window. 

“How often do you see them?”

“It used to be more often but the past few months have been really difficult with school and work schedules. I video chat with Mama and my sisters every week and then I talk with Dad and my brothers a few times a month. Do you talk with your family?”

“They still live in Japan,” Shiro murmurs. “Last time I visited was two summers ago- I’m hoping to go in a month or two to visit and meet my grandparents.”

“That sounds like fun! I’m happy for you.”

“It’ll be nice,” Shiro hums.

They fall into another comfortable silence before Shiro releases Lance’s hand to change the radio station quickly. It’s not the soft classical from before but a pop station that was playing some hits that played constantly. “Do you mind if we take the long way home?”

Interesting.

“No problem,” Lance replies quickly, looking out the window. “Tell me more about Japan, Shiro.”

-

There were a lot of things that Lance wanted from the date. He wanted to have fun and Shiro delivered at dinner with jokes and stories, entertaining the table. He wanted tasty food- and he got that from Keith’s suggestion. He wanted to have a nice conversation with Shiro, and they talked about their families. He wanted to connect and really get to know Shiro and through their conversations, he did. What Lance didn’t want was for things to feel like pity or a poor pace, which is what it was slipping into.

What Lance figured is that after a few drinks at Shiro’s apartment and some more vulnerable conversations, Shiro was tipsy and not himself. Lance wasn’t sure what about Shiro changed but his whole demeanor was… Off.

They were lip locked though, on the couch. Lance wouldn’t fight it- this was literally everything he had hoped for while dating Shiro. As much as Lance’s reputation might’ve presented it though, he wasn’t one to kiss on the first date- or even the second or third. So when Shiro had kissed him, he wasn’t sure how to feel. Lance wasn’t stupid either- he knew that there was probably something that was making Shiro act this way, and it wasn’t just the alcohol.

On one hand, Lance liked when things were spontaneous. He enjoyed when people surprised him and he liked surprising others. And when it came to Shiro- he had been crushing on him for years at this point- this was like some sort of weird dream come true. On the other hand, it was too good to be true. Shiro had never shown interest before this and suddenly, they’re on a date and they’re kissing and he’s sure if he doesn’t stop now, there could be more. But, it’s not like him; it’s not like Shiro. Hell, it’s not like either of them.

After a few moments, Lance’s hands press against Shiro’s chest a little bit to push him back, frowning. “I think you’re tipsy, Shiro. Why are we making out?”

Shiro frowns for a second and sits up a little bit straighter. “Lance- if I crossed a line, I’m really sorry-”

Lance holds a hand up. “I really like you, a lot. But this isn’t like you- and this isn’t the Shiro I was hoping to go on a date with…” He brings his hands down to pick at his fingernails a little bit. “You’ve been a gentleman all night and this-”

Shiro takes Lance’s hands. “I- I’m not like this normally.” Shiro frowns a bit deeper and sighs, squeezing Lance’s hands before letting them go. An awkward atmosphere settles itself beside them.

“I’m not flustered or rash- I never kiss on the first date. It’s just-” he stops to think for what feels like several minutes before he finally spits it out. “I like you too- a lot. And I’ve wasted so much time when I could’ve been getting to know you?”

Lance melts a little bit at that and glances back up at Shiro. “I don’t kiss on a first date, Shiro. I know you don’t either- so why did you?”

“I said it, Lance- I really like you.” He takes one hand and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry… I want to treat you right and obviously, I misread the situation.”

Lance wants to scoff a tiny bit- of course Shiro misread the situation but at this point, he wasn’t really sure why they had to sit here and be awkward now. Lance was so sick of miscommunication.

“Can we try again next week,” Shiro asks gently. 

Lance looks up at him and can’t really say no at this point- Shiro had apologized. He nods.

“I’d like that, Shiro. Let’s just- go slow.”

Shiro smiles a little bit and takes Lance’s hand to press a soft kiss on it. “That sounds great, Lance. Thank you.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You kissed Lance? On the first date?”

Shiro doesn’t reply. Keith pushes harder.

“Shiro, that was an asshole move.”

“It was dumb, I’m sorry,” Shiro mutters, sitting down with a new clump of clay and a bowl of water. “I don’t know why you seem to care so much if he’s going on dates with  _ me _ though, Keith.”

“Because you don’t like him, Takashi!” 

To say Keith was pissed was an understatement. Everyone knew that he was a hot head, he had a terrible temper that he had worked on for several years. But Keith was known to get angry quickly and really intense. He doesn’t even notice that he’s clenching his fist until the tail of his cat sculpture is crushed in his grasp. He scowls and removes the whole piece to make it again.

“I have to go on six dates with him, Keith- wouldn’t he expect me to kiss him eventually?”

“Have you learned anything about him, Shiro? He’s not like that. He was telling me yesterday that you weren’t acting like yourself. He wants to date Normal Shiro, not this dumbass.”

“Look, I don’t have to go on dates with him, Keith. I’m doing this because you asked me to.”

Keith shoots a glare over quickly, and his expression is nothing but ice. “You won’t graduate if I don’t do your fucking assignments for you,” he hisses quietly. “You’re not doing this for me or for him, you’re doing it for yourself.”

Shiro goes quiet after that and looks back down at his clay, starting to sculpt it the tiniest bit so Keith had something to go off of later.

“Tell me about Lance,” he says after several long minutes of silence.

Keith looks over, the tail in his hand finished once more to be put back on the cat. “What?”

“You said I know nothing about him. Tell me about him, so he has a better time.”

“I’m already doing your ceramics homework, you don’t need me to do homework for your makeout buddy too.”

“Keith-” Shiro sighs, frustrated. “Please.”

Keith frowns and attaches the tail before wiping his hands on his apron. “What do you want to know?”

Keith talks about Lance in some really incredible detail. He starts with things that Lance likes- he loves music and dancing, his favorite colors are blue and red and gold, he loves his family so much, and his favorite place to go is the beach. Lance is allergic to shellfish but he would give any amount of an epi pen to eat some crab. Lance loves when it rains and becomes feral when there’s thunder and lightning. He’s always wanted to be kissed in the rain.

Keith also talks about what Lance can’t stand- he hates people who lie (this makes Keith and Shiro go quiet for a minute), he doesn’t like garlic but his mom’s garlic knots are to die for. Lance doesn’t like the color yellow because he thinks it doesn’t look nice on him, he hates cheap makeup, he wishes that he could visit his family more often, and he’s so passionate about hating the Fast and Furious movies. Lance hates when Keith drives fast and as much as Lance says he hates Keith’s motorcycle, Keith is convinced he loves it.

Keith explains everything he can about Lance for as long as he can- and when he’s done, he looks at Shiro to see the man watching him with a sad expression.

“You care about him a lot, Keith.”

Keith shrugs a little bit. “He’s my best friend.”

Shiro’s mouth opens like he’s going to say something else but he closes it and turns back toward his project. “Thank you. And thank you for helping me with my homework.” He’s quiet for a minute longer before he looks at Keith again. “What kind of boundaries does he have?”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “I think that’s a conversation you need to have with him.”

Shiro nods. “Right.” He glances down at his watch- their conversation had stretched into their ‘free time’ and he curses under his breath. “I’m gonna be late to lunch. Did you want to finish up my project?”

Keith nods and tugs the sad excuse for a bowl over. “I’ll see you on Wednesday. Until then, get to know Lance, don’t just ignore him until Friday.”

Shiro nods. “Right. I’ll see you Wednesday.” He leaves.

-

Keith meets up with Lance that day to get dinner, meeting at  _ Brews _ . They sit, Lance working on some homework as he munches on a sandwich. He looks up over his laptop to see Keith staring off, completely zoned out and he kicks him under the table gently.

“Hey, Earth to Keith,” he says softly. “You there?”

Keith is jarred a little bit and he hums, focusing back on Lance. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to zone out. What were you saying?”

“Nothing,” Lance chuckles. “You just like, went to space for a little bit,” he teases. “You sure you’re alright?”

Keith purses his lips. “Has Shiro talked to you today?”

Lance looks back up from his laptop, confusion etched on his face. “Uh, yeah- why?”

Keith shakes his head. “I just wanted to make sure. You never told me if you guys were going on another date,” he lies.

“Friday,” Lance hums. “Mini golf or something? I’m not sure yet.” He furrows his eyebrows. “Why are you so interested?”

Keith shakes his head. “No, no, I’m just curious. That sounds like fun.” He goes quiet again and looks down at his own drink; he can feel Lance’s eyes boring into him. The silence lasts a moment before Keith sighs once more.

“What do you like about him, Lance?”

Keith can  _ feel _ Lance bristle from across the table at the question and Keith’s blood goes cold for a minute as he waits for Lance’s answer. But then the answer doesn’t come and Keith frowns a little bit. 

“You  _ do _ like him, right?”

“Of course I do,” Lance hisses a bit too quickly. “It’s- there’s a lot that I like about him. He’s considerate and smart and attractive-”

“That’s not what you said yesterday,” Keith argues. “You were talking about how he acted the exact opposite of what you expected.”

“You didn’t talk to him about that, right? That’s not your business, Keith.”

“No,” he lies again. “Is he acting differently all of a sudden?”

Lance frowns. “Yes.” Lance seems exasperated. “You know him better than I do, Keith- is he like this? Have I just not seen him like this before?”

Keith sighs and seems to cool down after seeing Lance’s expression- he seems disappointed. “I’ve never dated him before but I know there’s a reason that he and Adam continue to break up and get back together. Shiro has a hard time prioritizing.”

Lance pouts a little bit and picks at his sandwich on the table. “Maybe I shouldn’t go on a second date with him.”

And as much as Keith wanted to say ‘yes, don’t go, he doesn’t like you’, he had to stop. Shiro made Lance really happy and to see him finally going on dates and such, it made it harder for Keith to tell the truth. It was now that Keith realized he would much rather lie to keep Lance happy than to be honest and make Lance upset or lonely.

“He makes you happy,” Keith murmurs. “I don’t think he was himself that night- and I think he was just nervous.” Keith looks up at Lance. “He told me he was anxious- because he really likes you.”

The funny thing about guilt is that after you felt so much, you could go numb.

Lance looks back down at his laptop before nodding. “I promised I’d give him a second chance. I don’t break my promises.”  
Keith gives him a reassuring smile. “You don’t. Let me know if anything else happens, okay? I want to be there for you.”

Lance closes his laptop and takes Keith’s hand across the table, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Thank you, Keith. I’m sorry I keep getting so fired up.”

“Yeah,” Keith scoffs teasingly. “I’m the hot head here. I’m sorry for getting upset as well.” He releases Lance’s hand and scoops up his trash, grabbing his empty cup and then Lance’s. “You still owe me a rematch in some Mario Kart. Wanna drop by my place?”

Lance closes his laptop, watching Keith throw away their garbage in the bin beside their table. “Sure thing, buddy. Can we swing by my place so I can drop some stuff off?”

“Sounds good.”

-

Keith lies in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep - he never could - and tonight wasn’t much of an exception. His mind raced one million miles an hour and there was something about the stickiness of his sheets against his body and the slow fan turning on the ceiling that really just made his skin itch.

He pushes the sheets off and sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes with his palms before he blinks, glancing around the dark room. The moon was shining through the gaps in the blinds. He paces over to the window, looking outside to see rain splattering across the pavement below. He didn’t even notice it had started raining.

He watches the rain fall for a little bit, the sheets getting thicker and thicker until the street lights are harder to see. His mind wandered off to Lance for a moment- he wondered if the boy was up to watch the rain or not. After another second of thought, he walks back to his bed, picks up his phone, and shoots a text to Lance.

**3:02 - It’s raining.**

He goes back to sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at himself in the mirror beside him. Keith doesn’t expect a reply so he jumps when his phone buzzes on the sheets beside him so quickly. He picks up the phone to see a message from Lance. Then another one.

_ 3:03 - It is! You’re still up? _

_ 3:04 - Wanna come over? _

Keith frowns at the message. Of course he’s up- why is Lance up? He then reads the second message and sighs, dropping his phone to his lap to look at himself in the mirror again. Keith didn’t spend a lot of time looking at himself but when he did- it was a battle.

Keith Kogane didn’t have too many body issues- he was fine with how he looked. He certainly didn’t determine his worth of others on how he looked at this point. He figured he was average, not ugly but not really handsome either. He had heard plenty of people compliment him before but he could never remember what they said- it was significant enough for him.

On the other hand, staring at himself at 3am in the dark was a new experience for him. It’s like the dark revealed more than just his appearance but his whole soul, even if it was just for a few minutes. 

His eyes were dark- everything about them. He had the darkest violet color, and his lashes were long and dark (he knew Lance would talk about them enviously for hours), and he had bags that hung under his eyes, heavy and full. He sometimes considered his eyes to be starless- there was nothing special about them, they were just black constantly.

The eyes were the window to the soul and right now, Keith could see right into them. He was feeling everything at once and didn’t even realize it- he didn’t show it. There was nothing transparent about him.

**3:08 - I’ll be there in 15 minutes.**

Keith could see Lance on the building’s roof when he pulled up on his bike. Keith was soaked to the bone from driving in the rain but when he saw Lance, he didn’t care. The boy hadn’t brought out an umbrella or even a coat. He sat on his roof, legs dangling over the edge, drenched but beaming. Keith chuckles to himself and starts up the stairs to the roof access, seeing it had been propped open for Keith to slip through.

He leaves his helmet on the ground beside the door and climbs the ladder before he’s sitting beside Lance on the edge of the roof, looking over the edge of the city. From the roof, you could see rows of buildings, apartments, the tall hospital tower, and just a bit further, the beach. With the amount of rain right now though, the horizon stopped just a few blocks away, sheets blocking views of lights or tall structures.

“You’re gonna get sick,” Keith says, speaking a bit louder than normal over the thundering sound of the rain. “You could’ve at least brought an umbrella!”

Keith hears Lance laugh and looks over at him.

“And miss out on  _ feeling _ the rain? Yeah right!” Lance nudges Keith’s shoulder with a smile before looking back at the pouring rain. They sit in silence for what seems like ages before the rain begins to slow and more of the valley is revealed. You can see the landing pad of the helicopter near the hospital, the illumination of street lights and gas stations, and eventually the ocean meeting the sky near the end of the horizon.

Lance is sniffing already, wiping his nose. He’s had the same grin on his face the whole time and as he stretches out, leaning back on the roof, he looks back over at Keith.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Never,” Keith huffs, leaning back as well. “Why were you up?”

Lance hums. “Shiro texted me, told me it was raining. I- I thought it was really sweet that he would wake me up for that actually.”

Right. Shiro. Keith had told him about what Lance enjoyed.

“Why did you invite me then,” he asked, some bite laced on the end of the question on accident.

Lance doesn’t seem to mind though and he shrugs, staring at the ocean. “You like the rain.”

_ Only because you do _ , Keith thinks. 

“And you’re my best friend- why would I miss out on something like this when I could spend it with you?”

Keith nods but doesn’t glance over- all he can think about is how he looked in the mirror earlier. Lance was so bright- so fucking bright. And Keith was this dark hole. There was a reason that they were just best friends.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Keith whispers.

“Anything for you,” Lance says, taking Keith’s hand for another friendly squeeze. 

_ Anything for me. _


End file.
